Markets flat as ITC, Bharti weigh

After the opening in the green, the Sensex touched a high of 18,032 in the mid morning trades. The upward movement, however, lost steam and the index slipped into the negative. This was due to the selling pressure in the index heavyweights like ITC, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra. The BSE benchmark index is down seven points at 17,933 and the Nifty turned flat at 5,402.

However, the broader markets continue to remain strong with the smallcap and the midcap indices up 0.7% and 0.5% respectively, while the Sensex is down 0.08%.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto index continues to weigh, down 0.6% followed by Capital Goods, FMCG and Power indices down 0.2% each. On the other hand, Information Technology, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and Bankex indices are up 0.3% each.

Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Communications, HDFC are the top gainers, up nearly 2% among the Sensex stocks. Hero Honda, SBI, Infosys up 0.6-0.8% are the other notable gainers.

Among the losers are Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, ITC and Bharti Airtel are down 1% each.

Market breadth continues to be positive owing to the strength in broader markets. 1,460 stocks have advanced while 933 have declined on the BSE.